Private sector payroll growth highest in 3 years

A woman browses job openings at a job fair in Los Angeles, California, October 12, 2010.

Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

NEW YORK U.S. private sector payrolls rose to their highest in three years in November, lifting optimism about the job market ahead of Friday's key government employment report.

Adding to the view that the U.S. economic recovery was picking up steam, non-farm productivity grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter.

U.S. private employers added a stronger-than-forecast 93,000 jobs in November, the biggest rise since November 2007, after an upwardly revised gain of 82,000 the month before, according to data Wednesday by ADP Employer Services, which jointly developed the report with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.

The October figure was originally reported as a gain of 43,000.

"It is just another sign of re-acceleration in the labor market. Some of the details suggest that there is a 60 percent chance that the government's payroll number could beat consensus," said John Canally, Investment Strategist at LPL Financial in Boston.

The U.S. government's monthly employment report on Friday is forecast to show another month of job gains.

Also in November, however, the number of planned layoffs by U.S. employers rose to the highest level since March, according to a report by consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Employers announced 48,711 planned job cuts last month, up 28 percent from 37,986 in October, with the government and non-profit sector leading the rise, the report showed.

U.S. stock index futures were sharply higher before the stock market open, while long-dated U.S. Treasury debt prices were at session lows and the U.S. dollar sharply weaker against major currencies after a week of gains.

Wednesday's government productivity report showed productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.3 percent rather than the 1.9 percent pace reported last month, as employers squeezed more output from workers and kept costs contained.